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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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8 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Hempseed cell wall polysaccharides are dominated by linear xylans and cellulose: Comprehensive structural profiling of ten cultivars of industrial hemp, Cannabis sativa L .

Hempseed is a rich source of dietary fiber; however, there has been limited research on the variability of carbohydrate composition in hempseed cell walls. The primary aim of this study was to conduct a comprehensive chemical and structural analysis of the cell wall polysaccharides in ten hempseed cultivars. Water-soluble polysaccharides (WSP) and water-insoluble residues (WIR) were isolated and subsequently analyzed for their monosaccharide composition using HPAEC-PAD, glycosyl linkage analysis using GC–MS, and structural characterization via NMR spectroscopy. All hempseed cultivars contained a high proportion of insoluble fibers and smaller amounts of soluble polysaccharides. Glucose and xylose were the most abundant components of the WIR fractions, while the WSP fractions contained abundant amounts of galactose, galacturonic acid, arabinose, rhamnose, and mannose. The results of linkage and spectroscopic analysis were consistent with the compositional analysis, identifying cellulose and acetylated linear xylans as primary components of WIR, and arabinogalactans, rhamnogalacturonans, heteromannans, xyloglucans, and arabinan as predominant in WSP. Altogether, the study revealed a comparable cell wall structure among the analyzed hemp seed varieties. The high fiber content of whole hempseed-based ingredients presents significant potential for food manufacturers seeking to develop products with enhanced dietary fiber content, offering both functional and nutritional benefits for consumers.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Characterization of two types of polysaccharides from Eremurus hissaricus roots growing in Tajikistan

Eremurus Hissaricus (E.hissaricus) is a native plant of Tajikistan that has been used in traditional medicine and whose raw components have been identified as having potential for the domestic economy. We have found that carbohydrates comprise 80–85% of the root biomass, from which we have characterized two types of polysaccharides: A water-soluble polysaccharide (WSP) and an acid-soluble polysaccharide (ASP), with 23% and 8% yields, respectively. The results from FTIR, HPAEC-PAD, HPSEC, methylation linkage analysis and NMR spectroscopy ( 1 H, 13 C, zTOCSY, HSQC, HSQCTOXY and HMBC) demonstrated that WSP has a backbone of (1 → 4)-linked β-d-mannopyranosyl and β-d-glucopyranosyl residues in a 1.5:1 M ratio, having acetylated groups, with weight-average molecular weights of 495 kDa. Analyses of ASP indicate that it is comprised of d-galactose, d-mannose, and d-glucose in a molar ratio of 1.8: 1.6: 1.0, which is consistent with a branched galactoglucomannan polysaccharide with (1 → 4)-linked β-pyranose configurations, and weight-average molecular weight of 179 kDa. The FTIR absorption bands in the region of 875–890 cm 1 and NMR spectroscopy data confirm the presence of β-pyranose configuration of main polysaccharide backbone in the both ASP and WSP samples. These polysaccharides are an available raw material with the potential for use in a number of industrial applications.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

FY23 Update: Aerosol Sampling for the Canister Deposition Field Demonstration

This report describes the results of preliminary testing of aerosol monitoring equipment that will be used to continuously monitor the aerosol source term for the multi-year Canister Deposition Field Demonstration (CDFD). These data are required inputs for the development and validation of models for the deposition of dust and potentially corrosive salts on the surface of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) dry storage canisters. Surface salt loads correlate with the extent of corrosion damage on a metal surface, and potentially to the likelihood and timing of initiation of stress corrosion cracks. Aerosols will be monitored at the CDFD site using three instruments. A Dekati ® ELPI+ cascade impactor will be used for real-time monitoring of aerosol particle sizes. It will also collect dust in 14 size bins on impactor targets that can be chemically analyzed to determine the soluble salts present as a function of particle size. However, this instrument can only measure dried aerosols, with a diameter of <10 µm. The second instrument is a Topas laser particle size spectrometer, which provides real-time monitoring of aerosol particle sizes up to ~40 µm in size. It monitors both the ambient (potentially deliquesced) aerosol particle size distributions required for the dust deposition models and the distributions of the equivalent dried particles, allowing correlation with the Dekati ® data. However, it does not discriminate between inert dust particles and salt aerosols, and it does not retain samples of the different particle sizes for later analysis. The third instrument that will monitor aerosols at the CDFD site is a Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET) tower, which uses a multiple canister system to collect weekly samples for analysis to total suspended aerosol particle compositions and atmospheric gas concentrations. This status report describes work in FY23 to develop the capabilities for using these tools. In two training exercises, the cascade impactor and laser particle sizer were deployed in two different testing environments, one indoor and one outdoor. For the cascade impactor, the tests provided opportunities for the operators to familiarize themselves with impactor substrate preparation, and post-test sample removal and analysis. For the laser particle sizer, the tests were used to evaluate different instrument parameters, to determine the most appropriate settings for capturing transient events. Data and samples were collected for weeks to months for each test, and the results are presented here. In addition to the preliminary testing, contracts were developed with WSP Analytical Labs for sample preparation and analysis of the cascade impactor samples. The impactor tower from outdoor test was delivered to WSP and used to train the staff there in disassembly, sample extraction, sample analysis, and tower reassembly with new target substrates. These are tasks that WSP will be performing routinely for the CDFD project. The CASTNET system cannot be purchased or tested until an actual site has been selected for the CDFD test. Work for this FY has been restricted to preparation of contracts for purchasing the CASTNET tower, and for sample analysis, once the tower is in operation.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Extending evolutionary forecasts across bacterial species

Improving evolutionary forecasting requires progressing from studying repeated evolution of a single genotype under identical conditions to formulating broad principles. These principles should enable predictions of how similar species will adapt to similar selective pressures. Evolve-and-resequence experiments with multiple species allow testing forecasts on different biological levels and elucidating the causes for failed predictions. Here, we show that forecasts for adaptation to static culture conditions can be extended to multiple species by testing previous predictions for Pseudomonas syringae and Pseudomonas savastanoi. In addition to sequence divergence, these species differ in their repertoire of biofilm regulatory genes and structural components. Consistent with predictions, both species repeatedly produced biofilm mutants with a wrinkly spreader phenotype. Predominantly, mutations occurred in the wsp operon, with less frequent promoter mutations near uncharacterized diguanylate cyclases. However, mutational patterns differed on the gene level, which was explained by a lack of conservation in relative fitness of mutants between more divergent species. The same mutation was the most frequent for both species suggesting that conserved mutation hotspots can increase parallel evolution. This study shows that evolutionary forecasts can be extended across species, but that differences in the genotype–phenotype–fitness map and mutational biases limit predictability on a detailed molecular level.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

On the Generation of Weddell Sea Polynyas in a High-Resolution Earth System Model

Larger Weddell Sea polynyas (WSPs), differentiated in this study from the smaller Maud Rise Polynyas (MRPs), forming to the east of the prime meridian in the proximity of the Maud Rise seamount, have last been observed in the 1970s. We investigate WSPs that grow realistically out of MRPs in a high-resolution (HR) preindustrial simulation with the Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 0.1. The formation of MRPs requires HR to simulate the detailed flow around Maud Rise, while the realistic formation of WSPs requires a model to produce MRPs. Furthermore, WSPs tend to follow periods of a prolonged build-up of a heat reservoir at depth and weakly negative wind-stress curl in association with the core of the southern hemisphere westerlies at an anomalously northern position. While this scenario also leads to drier conditions over the central Weddell Sea, which some literature claims to be a necessary condition for the formation of WSPs, our model results indicate that open-ocean polynyas do not occur during periods of weakly negative wind-stress curl despite drier atmospheric conditions. Our study supports the hypothesis noted in earlier studies that a shift from a weakly negative to a strongly negative wind-stress curl over the Weddell Sea is a prerequisite for WSPs to form, together with a large heat reservoir at depth. However, the ultimate trigger is a pronounced MRP; whose associated convection creates high surface salinity anomalies that propagate westward with the flow of the Weddell Gyre. If large enough, these anomalies trigger the formation of a WSP and a pulse of newly formed Antarctic Bottom Water.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Recovery and Refining of Rare Earth Elements from Lignite Mine Wastes

The University of North Dakota (UND), in collaboration with a comprehensive team of technical, business and host-site partners, built on prior technology development to complete a front-end engineering and design (FEED) and business planning study to recover and refine rare earth elements (REE) and critical minerals (CM) from North Dakota (ND) lignite mine wastes. The end of project goal was to have an investment quality project and a committed team ready to commercialize the proposed technologies in a future construction and operations phase.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2025

A perspective on lessons learned and future needs for wind energy field campaigns

This perspective paper provides motivation and guidance to the wind energy community for suggested future investments and a long-term strategy for wind-energy-related field campaigns that will provide much-needed observations for improving wind energy science and model validation. We synthesize key lessons learned from past field campaigns, identify critical science gaps that we think should drive future field efforts, and provide a suggested pipeline on how future endeavors should be developed. When considering future grand field campaigns, we stress the need for international cooperation across funding bodies, research institutes, and industry partners to collect observations to overcome current and future grand challenges for wind energy.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Utah FORGE: 2023 Large Upscaled Discrete Fracture Network Models

This dataset includes the data and a report on the large upscaled discrete fracture network modeling done for the Utah FORGE project in 2023. The FORGE modeling team is making five discrete fracture network (DFN) realizations of a large reservoir model available to researchers. These models have been upscaled to a continuum mesh or grid at resolutions of 10 meters and 20 meters providing reservoir properties for fracture porosity, permeability, and compressibility. The models are available in both the reference global coordinate frame and a local coordinate frame aligned with principal stress directions.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗